Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia

The Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) was an Islamist political party in Somalia that existed from September 2007 to January 2009. The ARS was founded by former Islamic Courts Union leaders Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Dahir Aweys, and it had a 191-member Central Committee and a 10-member Executive Committee. Islamists held 45% of the seats, ex-MPs 25%, and 30% representatives of the diaspora and civil society. The party was enemies with al-Shabaab, the Ras Kamboni Brigades, Jabhatul Islamiya, and the foreign Mujahideen, and it merged into either the Somali government or Hizbul Islam.